Liquid applicator for strip material

ABSTRACT

A label gluing or moistening device includes a housing forming a reservoir or well for the liquid such as glue. The housing is closed by a cover defining an inclined wall for the reception of a label to be moistened and which may be fed between a rotatable rubber-coated roller and a pair of biasing rollers which are mounted on the interior of the cover and biased upwardly against the rubber-coated roller. Labels are fed downwardly from the inclined wall by rotation of the rubber roller which through gearing causes rotation of a reservoir roller or pickup roller and an applicator roller to pick up the liquid from the reservoir and transfer it to the applicator roller over which the label is fed by the movement of the rubber roller. The pickup roller and the applicator roller are mounted such that end shaft portions may be slipped into or removed from vertical grooves defined in the housing, and they include a tongue formation on the shafts on one side which engages into a groove or recess formation formed as shaft projections of rotatable gears mounted on the exterior of the sidewall of the housing. In a similar manner, the shaft for the rubber feed roller is mounted so that it may be engaged or disengaged with an extension of its associated gear for driving the applicator and transfer roller gears, the whole arrangement being such that the cover with the feed roller and the two separate pickup rollers and applicator rollers may be easily removed from the housing for cleaning or adjustment of the parts as necessary. The device also includes an extension supporting a bar upon which is carried a plurality of rotatable fingers which may be arranged so that they abut against the surface of the applicator roller and insure that the label which is fed thereover is picked off at the exit end of the housing and delivered over the surface of the fingers for removal and use.

United States Patent [72] inventor OacarK. H111 Aglncourt, Ontario, Canada [21] Appl. No. 840,545 [22) Filed Jan. 6, 1969 w l )i vision o f Ser. &0. 681.654. N'ov. 9. 1967,

Pat. No. 3.5168 37 [45] Patented June 22, 1971 [73] Assignce Better Packages, lne,

Shelton,Conn.

[54] LIQUID APPLICATOR FOR STRIP MATERIAL 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs. [52] U.S. 118/262 [51] Int. Cl B05: H08 [50] FieldofSearch 118/262, 637,249;68l269: 100/176. 160

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,316 9/1934 Hormel 118/262 2,112,246 3/1938 Maher 118/262X 2,752,771 7/1956 Kauffman. 68/269 X 2,774,328 12/1956 Rose 118/262 X 3,256,855 6/1966 Olephant 118/637 ABSTRACT: A label gluing or moistening device includes a housing forming a reservoir or well for the liquid such as glue. The housing is closed by a cover defining an inclined wall for the reception of a label to be moistened and which may be fed between a rotatable rubber-coated roller and a pair of biasing rollers which are mounted on the interior of the cover and biased upwardly against the rubber-coated roller. Labels are fed downwardly from the inclined wall by rotation of the rubber roller which through gearing causes rotation of a reservoir roller or pickup roller and an applicator roller to pick up the liquid from the reservoir and transfer it to the applicator roller over which the label is fed by the movement of the rubber roller. The pickup roller and the applicator roller are mounted such that end shaft portions may be slipped into or removed from vertical grooves defined in the housing, and they include a tongue formation on the shafts on one side which engages into a groove or recess formation formed as shaft projections of rotatable gears mounted on the exterior of the sidewall of the housing. In a similar manner, the shaft for the rubber feed roller is mounted so that it may be engaged or disengaged with an extension of its associated gear for driving the applicator and transfer roller gears, the whole arrangement being such that the cover with the feed roller and the two separate pickup rollers and applicator rollers may be easily removed from the housing for cleaning or adjustment of the parts as necessary. The device also includes an extension supporting a bar upon which is carried a plurality of rotatable fingers which may be arranged so that they abut against the surface of the applicator roller and insure that. the label which is fed thereover is picked off at the exit end of the housing and delivered over the surface of the fingers for removal and use.

PATENTED JUN22 IQYI 3, 585,9

sum 2 OF 3 INVENTOR.

OSCHR K- H/LL VnbiQ/Zfyzw 4 rramvsrs PATENTEflJunzzlsn 3,585,966

sum 3 or 3 INVENTOR.

BYOSCHR- K. HILL a an zrw A TI'OQNEYS LIQUID APPLICATOR FOR STRIP MATERIAL This is a division of application Ser. No. 681,654, filed on Nov. 9, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,468,287.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates in general to strip moistening and gluing devices and in particular to a new and useful device for moistening or gluing one side of a strip of material such as a label and which includes means for positioning the label into association with a feedoff roller and for advancing the label over a moistening applicator roller which is driven by the movement of the feed roller.

Prior to the present invention, machines have been known for applying glue or liquid to labels, but they had many disadvantages, including bulkiness of parts and an arrangement of parts which did not facilitate their disassembly for cleaning and inspection. In addition, the glue or liquid is not applied in a uniform coating, and in some instances, especially during initial feed, it does not apply at all. In addition it is not uncommon for the parts to cause tearing or pulling of the tape or label in addition to the poor application of a liquid or glue thereto. The reason generally was the fact that there was a variation of fluid supply and a variation of pressure to the applier and to the surface speed of such applier and the associated application rollers or devices.

The present invention is an improvement over the prior art, particularly in respect to the provision of a housing defining a liquid reservoir which includes a top wall or cover which fonns an inclined surface for receiving labels which may be positioned on the inclined surface in a position to be engaged and fed away by a feed roller. The feed roller, which is of a size so that it may be easily driven by hand engagement, comprises a roller member which is advantageously covered with a nonskid surface such as a rubber coating and which is centered in respect to a shaft which is journaled on brackets adjacent the bottom of the inclined surface of the housing cover. The feed roller is advantageously of a size so that it may be easily engaged by the fingers of the operators hand and rotated in a direction counter to the slope of the cover to engage and feed the labels downwardly off the inclined cover surface. A feature of the construction is the provision of two relatively small-sized counter rollers which are carried on a spring element depending from the underside of the cover and which engage upwardly against the periphery of the feed roller at closely spaced circumferential locations. For this purpose the cover is provided with an opening through which the small diameter biasing rollers extend so that the strip material is engaged between the biasing rollers and the feed rollers and fed over an application roller which applies liquid to its undersurface and then moves the label outwardly from the housing. A feature of the construction is that the applicator roller and a pickup or transfer roller which rotates in contact with t the applicator roller in the liquid contained in the housing reservoir are gear-driven from the feed roller. This insures a startup of the coating of the liquid or glue on the surface of the applicator roller even before the label contacts this roller so that an even coating of glue or liquid will be applied to the label as it is fed. The device advantageously includes pickup fingers which project from the front of the housing and which are engaged on the surface of the applicator roller to cause a lift-off of the label in the event that this should be necessary.

A further feature of the construction is that the shafts for the applicator roller and the pickup roller are rotatably supported at the lower ends of vertical grooves defined on each side of the housing. The extent and location of the grooves is such that the rollers are supported so that the applicator roller contact surface will be in even bearing contact with the pickup roller surface during normal operation. The drive connection between the gears from the feed roller and the applicator and pickup roller is effected through disengageable coupling formations defined on the ends of each of the shafts of these rollers. In the embodiment such coupling formation comprises a tongue formation on the feed roller shaft, the applicator roller shaft and the pickup roller shaft which engages in corresponding recesses defined on the shafts of various gears of a gear train interconnecting the shafts. In this manner, all of the shafts may be easily disengaged from its associated driving gear and lifted upwardly in the vertical support groove for easy removal from the housing so that the housing may be inspected or cleaned, as desired.

Accordingly it is an object of the invention to provide a device for applying a liquid or glue to a strip material such as a label which includes a housing defining an inclined strip positioning surface for the strip material and with a hand-engageable rotatable roller arranged so that the label may be advanced over two counter biasing rollers which are biased against the surface of the feed roller and moved into association with an applicator roller which is rotated by the rotation of the hand roller to effect an even coating of liquid or glue over the label.

A further object of the invention is to provide a label gluer or moistener which includes a housing having a spout opening at one end for visibly indicating the level of the liquid therein and for receiving additional liquid as desired and which mounts a liquid pickup roller in association with an applicator roller in a manner permitting the easy insertion or withdrawal of these two rollers.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strip material moistening or gluing device which includes a rotatable feed roller and which drives, through gearing arranged on a sidewall of the housing, an applicator roller over which the label is fed and the liquid or glue applied thereto and wherein the applicator roller is mounted in grooves defined in the walls of the housing for easy removal and installation and wherein the applicator roller is coupled to its associated gear drive from the feed roller in a manner permitting easy removal of the roller.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strip material moistener or gluer which includes a cover member defining an inclined feed path for the strip material and which also mounts a spring element for biasing rollers which are engaged with the undersurface of a feed roller mounted at the lower end of the inclined top cover.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strip element moistening or gluing device which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front top perspective view of a labeler constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the labeler;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the labeler;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial elevational and partial sectional view indicating the interengagement between the applicator roller and the driving gear therefor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein comprises a device for gluing or moistening strip material such as labels which includes a housing generally designated 10 having a bottom wall 12 with resilient supports 14 at each corner to permit the housing to be mounted on a surface such as on a table. The housing also includes a front wall 16, sidewalls l8 and 20, and a rear wall 22. The top of the housing is closed by a removable cover member 24.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the sidewalls l8 and provide a support for the cover 24 so that the cover forms an inclined feeding surface for receiving a label or strip material 26 (FIG. 2). A further feature is that the rear wall is provided with a central troughlike projection 224 which extends through an opening 24a defined in the cover 24. The projection 22a forms a spout to permit filling of the reservoir defined within the interior of the housing with a liquid such as a glue or a liquid which provides an activation for a coating on the undersurfaces of the label 26. The liquid in the housing is easily visible by viewing into the spout 22a, and the height of the spout outer wall is such that it provides a regulation for the level of the liquid to be maintained within the housing.

At the lower front end of the exterior of the cover 23 there are provided mounting brackets 28 and 30 for rotatably supporting a feed roller shaft 32 which carries a feed roller 34L The shaft 32 and the feed roller 34S are advantageously rotated by driving means which in the embodiment shown comprises the fingers of a persons hand which are engaged over the surface of the roller and moved in a direction toward the cover 24 as indicated in FIG. 2. The cover 24 provides a mounting for a spring member or leaf spring 36 which is secured to a mounting boss 38 by bolts 40. The free end of the spring 36 carries a yoke 36a which provides a pivotal support for a bracket or yoke member 42 which rotatably supports a pair of spaced pressure rollers or nip rollers 44 and 46 (see FIG. 2). The rollers M and 46 are biased upwardly through an opening 418 defined in the cover24l and they engage the periphery of the feed roller 34 at two circumferentially spaced locations adjacent the bottom thereof. As can be seen particularly in FIG. 2, the rotation of the roller 34 by the movement of a prsons hand will cause the automatic feeding of the label 26 between the rollers and 34 and the movement of the label, by the continuous rotation of the feed roller 34, over the roller 46 and onto the surface of an applicator roller or transfer roller 50. The nip rollers 44 and &6 feed and guide the label 26 in a parallel manner over the applicator roller 50 and prevent any skewing or catching of the labels at its corners which might result in tearing or jamming. The applicator roller 50 is effective to apply an even coating of liquid or glue to the undersurface of the label 26 and deliver it out through the front of the housing. The liquid such as glue 25 which is in the housing is picked up by a pickup roller or transfer roller 54 which is rotatably mounted within the housing below and to one side of the applicator roller 30 in a position at which its surface makes even contact with the surface of the applicator roller 50. The liquid which is picked up by the pickup roller 54 will be regulated as to amount by the position of a doctor blade 56 which includes a vertical portion 56a which is slotted vertically to receive bolt elements 58 for vertical adjustment and clamping. The doctor blade 56 includes a horizontal doctor blade portion 56!; which may be regulated in respect to the surface of the pickup roller 54? to scrape off excess liquid which is picked up thereby in order to regulate the film of liquid which is transferred from the pickup roller 54 to the applicator roller 50. The level of liquid 25 will not exceed the height of the overflow wall 220 which is at a lower level than the doctor blade portion 56b.

A set screw 60 is threaded into the horizontal portion 56a of the doctor blade 56 and it may be rotated to adjust the horizontal position of this portion when the bolt 53 is loosened to regulate the amount of doctoring which the blade will effect during the rotation of the pickup roller 54.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the rotation of the roller 34 causes the driving rotatable move ment of the pickup roller 54 and the applicator roller 50 at a faster speed than the roller 34. The drive in through a gear chain of gears 62, 64, and 66 having shafts 62a, 62b and 62c which are rotatably supported in the end wall 20 and in a wall of a gear housing cover 68 (FIG. 6). In the preferred arrangement, gears 62, 643 and 66 are of a size and number of teeth such that roller 50 is driven at a speed at which its periphery moves faster than that of the pickup roller 54) to create a wiping action between them for better transfer of the liquid.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the feed roller shaft 32 and shaft portions 50a and 54a of the applicator roller and pickup rollers, respectively, are connected to the associated gear shafts 62a, 62b and 62c, respectively, by means of couplings generally designated 70. in each instance the coupling 70 comprises a tongue formation 72 on one of the shafts and a recess or groove formation 7d on the other shaft which may interengage. The cover member 24 which carries the brackets 28 and 30 for rotatably supporting the shaft 32 may be completely removed from the housing when the tongue portion 72 of the shaft is arranged vertically so that the cover may be lifted upwardly vertically without the coupling 70 interfering with its removal.

In accordance with a still further feature of the invention, the housing wall 20 is provided with an inwardly extending boss or bracket formation 72 on each sidewall 18 and 20. The bracket formations each define two spaced vertical recesses or grooves 74 and 76 for receiving and rotatably supporting shaft portions 50a and 54a of the transfer roller 50 and pickup roller 54, respectively. The grooves 74 and 76 extend substantially vertically, as best indicated in FIG. 2, and they are open at the top so that it is possible to easily lift the transfer roller 50 and the pickup roller 54 out of its associated groove for removal from the housing for cleaning or repair purposes. In a preferred arrangement, in order to effect removal of the transfer roller 50 and the pickup roller 54 from the housing, it is necessary to first align the coupling 70 so that the tongue portions 72 extend substantially vertically or parallel to the axes of their associated grooves 74 and 76 so that they may be easily lifted out of these grooves. The shaft 32 may also be removed from the supporting brackets 28 and 30 by moving the roller 34 with the shaft 32 toward the right, as indicated in FIG. 1, toward the bracket 30 to displace the end of the shaft out of the bracket 23 and thereafter removing the shaft portion from the bracket 30. To prevent the removal of the shaft 32 during operation, a projection 32a is formed on the shaft adjacent the bracket 28 which prevents displacement of the shaft into the bearing opening in the bracket 28.

In order to insure that the label which is fed over the application roller 50 is maintained in uniform contact with this roller, the cover 24 advantageously includes a curved end portion 240 which overlies the upper peripheral portion of the roller 50 and maintains the label in close engagement with this roller during the feeding.

Finger guide members 82, 84 86 and 38 are rotatably carried on a bar 90 (FIGS. 2 and 3) which is supported on end brackets 92 and 94 arranged in front of the housing and are provided to insure that the label lifts off the surface of the applicator roller 50 when the liquid 25 which is used requires this. The finger members 82 and 88 may be shifted from side to side on the bar W in order to provide the desired alignment and spacing in a lateral direction and in respect to the feed 4 roller 34. Each finger 82, 84, 86, 8b is provided with a knife edge portion Mama, 86a and 88a which rests on the surface of the applicator roller 50 during operation. The fingers 82 and 88 may be rotated to a nonoperative position at which they hang downwardly from its associated bar 90, if desired.

Thus, the inventive device provides a housing which forms a reservoir for a liquid such as glue and which may be completely stripped of its associated parts and opened entirely by the removal of its top cover and the lifting out of the roller elements. Gear-driven shafts 62a, 62b and 62c extend inwardly from a sidewall 20 of the housing in a position at which coupling formations thereon may be readily engaged by complementary formations carried by the pickup roller 54, the applicator roller 50 and the shaft 32 of the feed roller 34. The pickup roller and the feed roller 50 may be easily inserted into the supporting hearings or removed therefrom, as desired. The spring 36 mounting the small biasing rollers 44 and 46 provides an arrangement which insures the feeding of the label with an even pressure around the surface of the feed roller and onto the surface of the applicator roller where an even film of the liquid is continuously applied. Because the applicator roller 50 is gear-driven along with its associated pickup roller 54, a quantity of the liquid will already be picked up from the reservoir supply and transferred onto the surface of the applicator roller before the end of the label arrives onto the surface thereof. Thus the apparatus insures the feeding of the label under the control of an operators hand feeding which permits the easy placement of the labels in a position in which they will feed downwardly along the inclined cover wall without difficulty.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

I claim:

1. A mounting for a plurality of cooperative roller elements adapted to have their surfaces contacting or substantially contacting, comprising a first roller having a relatively large diameter operating surface and relatively small diameter shaft portions at each end, a second roller having a relatively large diameter operating surface and a relatively small diameter shaft portion at each end, first and second spaced bracket means arranged adjacent each end of said rollers and having substantially vertical open-topped slots defined therein, said first and second rollers having their small diameter shaft portions extending into the respective slots of the respective opposite bracket portions and being rotatably supported in said slots and being upwardly removable through the open top of said slots; one of the slots having a bottom bearing, surface for rotatable supporting said shaft of one of said rollers, the other of the slots having a bottom bearing surface located to permit the peripheral surfaces of said first and second rollers to interengage.

2. A mounting according to claim 1, including a driving gear having a shaft portion extending into said slot from a side thereof opposite the small diameter shaft portion of said first roller, and coupling means defined between said drive gear and said small diameter shaft portion of said first roller which are interengageable upon vertical movement of said first diameter roller. 

1. A mounting for a plurality of cooperative roller elements adapted to have their surfaces contacting or substantially contacting, comprising a first roller having a relatively large diameter operating surface and relatively small diameter shaft portions at each end, a second roller having a relatively large diameter operating surface and a relatively small diameter shaft portion at each end, first and second spaced bracket means arranged adjacent each end of said rollers and having substantially vertical open-topped slots defined therein, said first and second rollers having their small diameter shaft portions extending into the respective slots of the respective opposite bracket portions and being rotatably supported in said slots and being upwardly removable through the open top of said slots; one of the slots having a bottom bearing, surface for rotatable supporting said shaft of one of said rollers, the other of the slots having a bottom bearing surface located to permit the peripheral surfaces of said first and second rollers to interengage.
 2. A mounting according to claim 1, including a driving gear having a shaft portion extending into said slot from a side thereof opposite the small diameter shaft portion of said first roller, and coupling means defined between said drive gear and said small diameter shaft portion of said first roller which are interengageable upon vertical movement of said first diameter roller. 